Musicians, artists gather to grieve through music after Oakland fire

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- A lot of people are left not knowing what happened to their loved ones, while others are already in mourning. In the close knit artist community of Oakland, many spaces like the Ghost Ship exist, housing creatives who love to share their work.

The Legionnaire's Saloon on Telegraph Avenue is donating a portion of its sales Saturday to the fire victims and their families. Some of the people inside knew victims and a handful were at the Ghost Ship warehouse when the fire broke out.

Three DJ's performing at the venue witnessed the fire and decided to go on with their show in order to help others grieve through music, the same type of music that was celebrated at the Ghost Ship warehouse.

They say they knew the venue had fire risks, but they liked performing there because the warehouse offered them the artistic freedom they were looking for.

One DJ we spoke with says he lost six friends in the fire, and from what he could tell from talking to people, there could be dozens more.

He says he was outside when the fire started and tried to help, but with so much smoke he says there was nothing anyone could do.

"Tonight, you know, we're DJ's who were going to play here anyway, but we're all survivors, all three of us playing here tonight, of last night's event. And we just, we're sort of tribute-ing our friends that we lost, in part," said DJ Nihar Bhatt. "And we're also creating a space where people feel like they can talk with other survivors tonight. So you know, the music that was getting played last night was dance music, was house music, techno music. And we're celebrating the artists that were about those sounds as well."